Allergy Free? It's Possible!
Lori Horan, N.D., L.Ac.
We welcome Summer in all its splendor (unless you happen to suffer from hay fever)!
Allergies occur when your immune system overreacts to normally harmless airborne particles, causing symptoms such as runny nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat and sneezing. These allergic reactions can range from mild to severe, and can aggravate other conditions including asthma, bronchitis, ear infections, eczema, hives, and headaches. Allergic reactions to dust, pollen and other substances are the body’s way of fending off the intrusion of airborne particles that disrupt the body’s equilibrium.
“I used to get a steroid shot every year to control my symptoms. It was very effective, but eventually my symptoms came back and were a little worse each year they returned,” explains Martin, a patient who wanted to find other means to treat his hay fever and asthma. After treating him with naturopathic and Chinese medicine for about a year, his seasonal cycle of symptoms are cured!
Treatment Of Allergies
While conventional medicine offers drugs that can provide temporary relief of allergy symptoms, these medicines may ultimately lead to new health problems. I have found that by using natural medicines and by modifying the diet to restore normal immune function, the underlying causes of allergies can be cleared for good. This approach can help you breathe, eat, and live allergy free again, without drugs!
Some of the factors that negatively impact immune function include: increased toxic burden; vaccinations and immunizations; damage to healthy intestinal flora due to over-reliance on antibiotics or steroids; repetitive diet habits; pesticides and preservatives in foods; and chronic intestinal yeast overgrowth (candidiasis). Following are a few of the most important things you can do to eliminate allergic symptoms:
Identify Food Sensitivities
A food allergy in the intestines often precedes allergies to airborne particles. Poor digestion, alcohol consumption, anti-inflammatory drugs, bacterial and parasitic infections and antibiotics can all weaken the gut barrier so that partially digested food macromolecules leak into the bloodstream through the intestinal wall. The intestinal mucosa is supposed to protect us against disease causing substances in our diet through an immune network called the gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). This system protects us from pathogens and prevents ingested proteins from hyper-stimulating the immune response. But when over-activated, even simple food particles can flag the immune system, and an allergic reaction is born. Allergy testing can identify these reactive foods, and elimination of these foods can reduce the stress on the immune system so it isn’t so “trigger-happy.” Inoculating the gut with certain beneficial strains of Lactobacillus have been shown to restore the GALT to normal function and reverse allergic reactions to foods. In some severe cases, an intestinal/liver cleanse is recommended.
Mast cells are immune cells that line the surfaces of the gut and respiratory tree. Certain water-soluble plant substances called flavonoids, are thought to work by preventing the release of the inflammatory chemical histamine from mast cells.
In my experience, the herb Urtica dioica reduces symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis. Research shows that this herb relieves allergy symptoms in about 58% of patients with allergic rhinitis.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Research suggests that essential fatty acids reduce the production of inflammatory chemicals in the body (prostaglandin E2 and inflammatory cytokines). Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish oil capsules of EPA and DHA, up to 3000 mg. per day.
Homeopathy
Desensitization drops can be very helpful in calming allergy symptoms. We use homeopathic combinations that can help you desensitize, and we have seen a good response using these sublingual drops in allergies to foods, animal dander, dust and all the typical pollens found in the Willamette Valley.
Acupuncture
In a German study published in the journal Allergy, 52 people with hay fever received acupuncture (once a week) and a Chinese herbal tea designed to address allergic symptoms (three times a day) or placebo acupuncture and a regular herbal tea. After 6 weeks, people who received the acupuncture and herbal treatment noticed an 85 percent improvement on a “global assessment of change” scale compared to 40 percent in the control group.
If you suffer from allergies, consider seeing Dr. Horan for acupuncture treatment and to learn other natural solutions to heal your allergies instead of just suppressing the symptoms.
Xue CC, et al. Effect of acupuncture in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial. American Journal Chinese Medicine 2002;30(1):
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(Planta Medica 1990 (56):44-47)
Immunomodulating Effects of Peptidic Fractions Issued from Milk Fermented with Lactobacillus,” LeBlanc, Matar, Valdez, et al., J. Dairy Sci. 85:2733-2742